October 20, 2010

Newton leaders say proposed rules for new residential subdivisions will hurt the city's efforts to recruit developers.
"If we continue to restrict our subdivision regulations, we will continue to eliminate development in this town," said Newton Mayor Robert Mullinax. "In the last four years, I don't think anyone can say I have not been an advocate for developers. We have, at times, gone above and beyond to assist folks who come in and want to make housing. I do not see anything constructive about anything in these recommendations that will assist us in bringing housing to our area."

October 20, 2010

Police are searching an area landfill for a piece of evidence they say will shed light on the case of missing 10-year-old Zahra Clare Baker.
Hickory Police Department, with the help of the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, started searching the Foothills Environmental Landfill on Wednesday in the hope of locating evidence to establish a timeline in Zahra's case.
Hickory Police Chief Tom Adkins declined to elaborate on what the piece of evidence is, but he said police are not looking for Zahra's body in the landfill.

October 20, 2010

A judge increased bond Wednesday for a woman police consider a person of interest in her stepdaughter's homicide investigation.
Judge Robert Mullinax Jr. increased Elisa Baker's bond for a felony obstruction of justice charge from $40,000 to $65,000, citing "particularly disturbing and unsettling allegations" against her.
Elisa Baker, 42, is the stepmother of Zahra Baker, the 10-year-old girl who was reported missing Oct. 9 from her Hickory home. Police are searching for Zahra in a homicide investigation, but they say they have hope she is alive.

October 20, 2010

Turning 100 years old is a milestone few people reach. Further turning 100 years old, living in the same house your parents built, working on the farm as your career and never marrying is unimaginable.
For one Conover woman, that life is reality.

October 20, 2010

Patricia Earlene Price, 69, of Hickory, died Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, at Palliative CareCenter and Hospice of Catawba Valley in Newton. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the funeral home.

October 20, 2010

Hickory Police and Caldwell County Sheriff's departments held a press conference Wednesday shortly after authorities announced an ongoing landfill search for clues in the Zahra Baker disappearance case.
HPD Police Chief Tom Adkins said searching the landfill could take up to five days, and while the police chief would only say investigators are searching for "a piece of evidence," he did confirm that they are not looking for Zahra's body. The landfill will be secured while the search is not active, Adkins said.

October 20, 2010

Newton-Conover has the season sweep over rival Bandys and the season sweep over the entire Catawba Valley 2-A Athletic Conference. The Red Devils defeated the Trojans 3-0 on Tuesday at home in the CVAC conference tournament championship. It was the third time this season Newton-Conover beat Bandys.

The win also moved Newton-Conover to 17-0 this season against teams from the CVAC. The Red Devils went 14-0 in the regular season, and they went 3-0 in the conference tournament to win it for the second straight season.

October 20, 2010

Elisa Baker's bond was increased $25,000 Wednesday.
Baker, the stepmother of missing 10-year-old Zahra Baker, appeared in court Wednesday via closed-circuit television. Her court-appointed attorney Scott Reilly appealed Baker's bond of $40,000 on her obstruction of justice charge because he said it's too high. However, District Court Judge B.J. Mullinax increased Baker's bond on the charge to $65,000 because she is considered a flight risk.
Mullinax said her failure to appear charges and outstanding unserved warrants make Baker a flight risk.

October 20, 2010

Authorities continue search for Zahra Baker in Caldwell County landfill.
A team from Hickory Police Department, along with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation agents, Evidence Recovery Team members and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Marshal Service, are searching for a piece of evidence in the Foothills Environmental Landfill in Caldwell County.
The search team is being supported by the Caldwell County Sheriffâ€™s Office and the Hickory Fire Department.
Law enforcement will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Caldwell County Sheriff's Office.